Caps of respectable elder gentlemen that don't cover the ears

I've seen many middle-aged and elder gentlemen wear caps and hats like these in the winter, when it's quite cold outside, when normal people wear caps that cover the ears.

Why do people do this? Just to look great (which it indeed does)? Is it not as important to cover the ears as it is to cover the head? Maybe it's just a myth that exposing your ears to too much cold can cause ear damage?

We have probably all seen those photos of people wearing those caps and hats from the Great Depression. Out in the cold waiting in bread lines, or engaging in a bank run, wearing their nice looking hats and caps.

Do ears basically not matter? Some thoughts on this would be appreciated.

The cap in the first photo, is what I believe to be called a 'newsboy' cap. Some models do have ear flaps that can fold out from inside. The second hat you have featured is, ofcourse a typical fedora. A fedora won't have ear flaps* but will retain heat from the head. A fedora will offer very minimal ear protection and would be better suited for the milder of winter days, especially those with no wind.
Style or not, it is foolish to expose your head in sub-zero temperatures for prolonged periods of time, though there will be no shortage of geniuses out there to claim otherwise. Do what is right for you. For me, I will happily wear a cap, fedora, toque or hood as is needed. I personally cannot stand the cold so I do everything to keep my head and body warm. This issue has nothing to do with age by the way, but with practicing the common sense to keep warm.

* a womans fedora may have earflaps in the form of a deployable soft fabric that will cover the ears and even tie around the neck.

Seriously, though, if you wear a cap or hat like the ones above, and then an overcoat with the large collar turned up and a scarf, you should be pretty warm

By the way, I think that the first cap is a "flat cap", not a newsboy cap. A newsboy cap is slightly different in construction, as it has a series of panels around the cap running from the top down to the sides and it has a fuller look than the flat cap.

There is the matter of caps being something working people (and upper-class people in the countryside) wore nearly all the time, not just when it was cold. You don't need earflaps except in winter, and there are caps made with earflaps that can be concealed inside the crown when not in use. Felt hats don't really have them, though.

The name of the first one is any one of ivy cap, flat cap, or, in some locales, simply a cap. It's not a newsboy- newsboys have multiple panels meeting in the center with a button, and are a rounder cut.

ie:

As for the bro-science of exposed ears in cold leading to hearing damage, complete bunk. Your ears may be cold, and in very extreme cases you may get frostbite. However, I've worn both fedoras and flat caps in -30 degree weather, with no ill effects apart from having to wait a minute or two to feel my ears when I got inside. I wouldn't leave my ears that exposed if I was say, skiing in such tempuratures, but for everyday wear both are perfectly fine options and look a hell of a lot more refined than a knit cap.

As for the old people versus normal people comment, it's more of a people who can dress themselves versus people who never learned how to dress themselves properly question. A huge amount of institutional knowledge about traditional ways of life, including manners of dress, were lost with the boomers, who never bothered to learn and were thus unable to pass such knowledge down to their kids. This website is, in many way a response to this. Young men often have crazy misconceptions about whatever traditional thing, be it attire, shaving, liquor, or whatever else because their dads didn't have the knowledge to teach them, since many of those dads rejected those things out of hand.